USA TODAY International Edition
Rebuilding from the elbow
76ers starting from scratch with Noel’s shooting
The notion that Nerlens Noel has a lot to work on before he’s going to be a scorer in the NBA isn’t new.
John Calipari, Noel’s coach at Kentucky, was firing warning shots before the draft in the summer.
“It’s going to take time,” Calipari told Cleveland. com. “He’s been coached at a high level for six months. He has a lot of potential and he was making great improvement before he got hurt.”
That getting hurt part — a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament he suffered against Florida in February — has kept Noel on the sideline since he was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers in a draft- night trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, who selected Noel sixth overall.
But as Noel rehabs his left knee, the Sixers are rebuilding his jump shot from scratch.
“It’s really hard, but if we can, we have the perfect environment to do it — a full year,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said.
Noel came to the Sixers with gifted natural abilities; he can run and jump. At Kentucky, Noel kept it simple. The Wildcats wanted him to run the floor, dunk, get easy baskets, defend, rebound and block shots.
Last season, Noel did not take one shot from beyond 17 feet, according to Synergy Sports, which tracks every play in college basketball and the NBA. The three shots Synergy categorized as jump shots were baby hooks in the middle of the lane and not traditional face- up jumpers with a guide hand on the ball.
“Everybody’s tweakable,” Brown said. “You bucket them into ‘ Is it a total rebuild?’ I think Nerlens is a total rebuild.”
That’s not to say Noel isn’t a strong offensive player. Synergy rated him excellent near the basket ( 1.3 points per possession) and good in post- ups ( 0.925 points per possession) last season. He shot 59% from the field.
The Sixers want him to develop a shot and expand his game, and at 6- 11 and thin, Noel needs more to his offensive repertoire. Philadelphia is returning to basics in the reconstruction of Noel’s shot, starting with one- handed shots and the elbow under the ball — the way shooting is taught at a young age.
“What happens is, when he does, the off hand comes and elbows start going out,” Brown said. “When he just goes one- handed, he gets his elbow under it. It’s a good- looking shot.”
The 76ers are rebuilding, and Brown, the team’s first- year coach, loaded his staff with strong player development coaches, including former NBA big man Greg Foster.
After a recent Sixers practice, Noel spent extra time with Foster, and Brown stopped to watch Noel shoot free throws. Brown thinks that if Noel can improve his shot at the foul line, he will be effective with the shot at other spots.
Brown has a willing participant. He said Noel wants to improve his shot and is open to advice.
“He’s great. It’s his future,” Brown said. “I really mean that. He’s wideeyed and open. He’s a willing learner because he knows. He’s looking for advice. He’s looking for somebody to help him. That’s my job.
“I’ll be really disappointed if in April we don’t look back and say we made good ground and we helped his shot.”